Ex-judge appointed to review Michael Flynn case says Trump's 'pressure' led to DOJ reversal

A retired federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s push to dismiss the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said in a court filing Friday that the department’s actions seem like a “corrupt, politically motivated favor” done after pressure by President Trump. John Gleeson, a former New York judge, offered the tough words while recommending the judge overseeing the case deny the Justice Department’s request. “The government’s attempt to dress up a politically motivated dismissal that smacks of impropriety as a ‘policy judgment,’ should be rejected,” Mr. Gleeson wrote in the court filing. In the filing, Mr. Gleeson wrote that the Justice Department, in seeking dismissal, “makes virtually no effort to deny or rebut the powerful evidence” that it is carrying out “a corrupt, politically motivated favor for the President’s friend and ally.” Flynn attorney Sidney Powell said the Justice Department’s dismissal request was based on evidence uncovered by U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, who was tapped by Attorney General William P. Barr to review the case. “Gleeson’s filing was predictable and meaningless,” Ms. Powell wrote on Twitter. “It’s the irrelevant and wrong smear he intended it to be — ignoring the mountain of exculpatory evidence Mr. Jensen unearthed and produced that shows the investigation and prosecution of General Flynn was corrupt from its inception.” A federal appeals court panel earlier this year ruled in Flynn’s favor and directed Judge Sullivan to toss the case. But Judge Sullivan appealed that decision to the full appeals court, which vacated the panel’s decision and returned the case back to the trial court for further review. Oral arguments to dismiss the case are scheduled for late September...MORE